I Saw a Man Walk...

"For you died when Christ died, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your real life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory." Colossians 3:3-4

If I had to judge, I would say this Lent was one of the hardest and longest for me in a long time...if not ever. At the beginning, I was excited (and nervous) about following Christ in forty days of fasting. Filled with hopes and dreams about how close I would be to Jesus, I embarked on this adventure! By the last few days, I was just ready for it to be over. My prayer in the first few days of Lent for the Lord's protection when Satan's testing came (probably near the end of the fast, like it happened for Jesus) was a distant memory, hazy in the recesses of my mind.

Iglesia del Gran Pastor (The Church of the Great Shepherd, my church in Mexico) had a retreat on Spiritual Warfare on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. I planned on not going. I was tired. I was busy. I didn't want to, but I went and God showed up and showed out!

I can't recount everything that happened, but I saw a man walk. He had been bound to a wheelchair for five and a half years due to a stroke. More than he was bound by physical limitations, he was bound by fear...fear of trying to walk, fear of falling, fear of failure. But I saw other believers surround him with prayer, I saw Jesus meet him at the point of his fear, and I saw him walk. They were halting steps, steps taken as he leaned on his wife, but they were steps free from his wheelchair.

And as I watched him walk, I wept. I watched his steps and realized that that is just how Jesus sees all of us. Crippled, bound by imaginary threats and fears, unwilling to try...again. But, more than that, He sees us rising from our place of captivity with the help of our brothers and sisters, taking a few halting steps. Most likely, our healing will be a process. You see after this man walked for a while he returned to his wheelchair. Our first steps of freedom are usually shaky and there will be many advances and retreats. Scripture says our new life is still hidden. On our best days we catch glimpses of it; on our worst we doubt its existence. But it is still there...as clear as the death of Jesus and as sure as His resurrection. One day, the lame, once bound by crippled, useless feet, will dance in His presence, and the blind will see who they really are....beyond this Lenten Land, Resurrection awaits us! He is risen! Allelujah!

Dulce & her imagination

Today I had the chance to play with one of my 4 year olds, Dulce (which means "sweet" in Spanish). This morning in my Bible class with the adults we were finishing up our study of the Lord's Prayer. We talked about praise and the phrase "For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever!" So, I decided to pull out some old club instruments (you know cans with beans and bells inside) and praise with Dulce. I was so excited to hear the news that her father who had been ill had found a new job and was glad that we were going to read the verse about singing a new song to the Lord. Although Dulce wasn't quite as enthusiastic as I was about singing, she enjoyed playing along on the instruments.

I think the part both of us enjoyed the most was playing with blocks. We made our very own house--with a bed for Dulce, her little brother and her grandmother. I enjoyed seeing her creativity blossom right before my eyes. She kept adding rooms and beds and windows until our house was complete. Then she used our "car" to move all our things back to their box.

As I played with her, I got inspired all over again to dream! I began to think about playing and imagining and their importance in the life of children. And I wondered why we stop imagining as adults. I've been thinking about the creative imagination that God has given us and how He wants to put His dreams, plans, and desires in our hearts. I pray Dulce keeps dreaming...watching her, I'm learning to dream all over again!